Pages

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Cauliflower Salad with Red Pepper, Olives and Anchovies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I first sampled this salad in the Italian kitchen of my childhood. Mrs. S. made it for her family, but only during the Christmas holiday. The dish originated in Sicily and it was called insalata di rinforzo. She called it reinforced salad because its ingredients were refreshed every day until the feast of the Epiphany was celebrated. At that point, it would miraculously disappear from her table and not be seen again until the following Christmas. I had really fond memories of the salad which looked like an element of giardiniera, but tasted nothing like its acrid pickled cousin. I had for years tried to duplicate it, but was never able to get it quite right. While searching for recipes that could be used to represent the work of Marcella Hazan, I stumbled on her recipe for the salad and, of course, had to try it. What was lost had now been found and I wasted no time making it. I love the way this salad looks and I really like its heady earthy flavors. The salad, which is very easy to make, is strongly flavored and not meant for the faint of heart. Those who share my love of full-bodied foods are in for a taste treat. Please note that the recipe uses capers and anchovies, neither of which are favorites of the general public. I'd love to tell you they can be omitted, but that is not the case. It's best not to attempt the salad if you aren't going to use them. Hazan's recipes have a lovely balance of flavors and I think you'll really like this salad. Here's the recipe.

Directions:
1) Trim outer leaves of cauliflower and cut an x in the root. Bring at least 6 cups of water to a boil. Add cauliflower, cover pot, and cook until stem of cauliflower can easily be pierced with a fork, about20 minutes. Drain and cool.
2) Break cauliflower clusters into bite-sized pieces and put them in a salad bowl. Add capers, anchovies, bell pepper and black olives and toss gently to combine. Add vinegar and olive oil and toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield 4 to 6 servings.

Hi Mary! What an AMAZING site you have! I love your blog, your recipes and your photography is incredible! I am going to enjoy your blog very much! I had to comment on this terrific salad. I love vegetables like this, but if they're too pickled....ugh. I've gotta scoot...I'm going to peruse the rest of your blog!

I would never be called faint of heart. I'm going to put this salad together with just a couple of modifications. I will use my beloved castelvetrano olives and I will use a green bell pepper (two reasons: I love their taste, and they are cheaper).

I'm happy to be lumped into the "not the general public" category. I like both capers and anchovies. In fact, I'm always flabbergasted when restaurants offer Caesar salad with no anchovies. How is that possible? I'll be preparing this salad. Probably not for any holiday but just because.

Mary! YOur comments were so nice to read this morning. I can not tell you how much I appreciated that. Now I have found YOUR amazing blog and will devote the next hour or so (before kiddies wake up) while sipping coffee devouring your archives! JOY and BLISS!!

I learned a long time ago not to mess with a good thing, esp a classic taste like this salad... so glad you were able to find it, it reads as if it was worth the wait.... and thanks for the link, I appreciate it

it took forever to get M. to let me put fish sauce in the banh mi. had to sneak it in a little at a time, and tell her what she had been eating. so not sure how i apply that strategy to anchovies! cheers!

Another recipe I have to try! I enjoyed your story about having special dishes for the holidays. We do that too and I have many happy food memories. Not just eating the food, but preparing it and sharing it with those we love.

Well, it sure LOOKS good! I LOVE food that makes your taste buds dance, so I'll go for it. I'm wondering if I could use anchovie PASTE instead of the little fish? Only because I have it on hand. What do you think?

After being so thrilled with Marcella Hazan's green bean recipe last week, I just know this will be awesome.

Your photos make me want to cry, Mary. I've recently picked up several books on digital food photography & you could have WRITTEN them, seriously. Yours look every bit as beautiful as the ones in magazine & in cookbooks.

I don't understand the general public's disdain for anchovies and capers. I think that they're simply divine! Marcella Hazan is cool, too. Your salad looks super in my book. I'm going to try it soon. This week if we still have bell peppers at home.

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice